Daniel Strehlau

Daniel Jan Strehlau
(born November 22, 1970, in Warsaw, Poland) is an award-winning Polish American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and editor known for his work in both documentary and narrative cinema. He holds dual citizenship in the United States and Poland and resides in the U.S.
Early Life and Education
Strehlau was born in Warsaw to a family deeply rooted in literature—his mother came from generations of librarians. He grew up surrounded by books and stories, discovering his early fascination with film in age of six. At the age of 13, he made his first movie, documenting his elementary school celebration on Super 8 mm film, which was screened in his school for two weeks. He studied philosophy and German studies at the University of Warsaw, film at the renowned Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź , and theology at the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw , where he earned a master’s degree. In 2000–2001, he became a Kościuszko Foundation scholarship recipient in New York City. Later, he studied acting at the Sanford Meisner Playhouse West (https://www.playhousewest.com/) in North Hollywood. Strehlau was raised religiously indifferent and identifies himself as a progressive American of Polish-Jewish heritage. His family’s ties to the United States go back to 1905, when relatives emigrated to New York City, and to 1952, when his grandfather settled in Chicago, although Strehlau never met them.
Film Career

In 1996, Strehlau founded his own production entity, Studio Filmowe Okna (https://www.danielstrehlau.com/) in Poland, later expanding it in the U.S. under D.B.A. The Windows Film Studio and later Brooklyn the Movie LLC. His body of work combines socially engaged themes with psychological realism, realistic tale, and cinematic experimentation.

Among his key films are:

• The Jews of Warsaw (1997) – the first documentary on the history of Warsaw’s Jewish community, an award diploma of the 4th Jewish Video Competition at the Judah L. Magnes Museum in Berkeley (1998).
• Hanukkah, a Double Time (2000) – winner of the 3rd Award at the “Crossroads of Europe” International Documentary Festival in Lublin (2003).
• The Windows (1996, 35mm) – short fiction film based on his original 1993 script and storyboard.
• Misunderstandings (1999) – a narrative short about two singles living together, whose relationship is put to the test. Based on his original 1998 script and storyboard.
• Not Enough (2004) – a narrative short considered for an Academy Award® nomination and certified with letter by A.M.P.A.S.
• Bashevis: A Love Story – feature hybrid documentary featuring Paul Mazursky (premiere pending).
• We the People of the Revolution (2016) – documentary featuring Senator Bernie Sanders.
• Loop (2018) – narrative short considered by A.M.P.A.S. for Oscar® nomination and officially selected by LA Short International FF. The movie is streamed on Amazon USA and Amazon UK
• Intersection of Lives (2025) – a first American AI-generated seven-minute teaser based on his 1997 script Three Stories, developed into “ready to go” production during the pandemic as part of his upcoming feature project Brooklyn, a psychological anti-racist dark dramedy triptych.

His films have been broadcast by TVP Polish State Television, screened worldwide via satellite, and shown at universities and Jewish cultural centers across the U.S., including private screenings for Pope John Paul II, Prime Minister Shimon Peres, President George W. Bush, Prof. Shevah Weiss, and Irvin Kershner (“The Empire Strikes Back”).

Warsaw Jewish Film Festival

In 2003, Strehlau founded by his own idea the pioneering Warsaw Jewish Film Festival (WJFF.pl) — the first festival of its kind in Eastern Europe — dedicated to the film industry professionals, who create films about Jewish life and culture. Under his leadership (2003–2013), the festival gained international recognition and became an early platform for films that later received Academy Awards® and nominations, including Camera of David awarded:

• West Bank Story (Oscar® winner)
• Beaufort and Katyń (Oscar® nominees)
• Ida (Oscars® winner, 2015)

He was also among the first to recognize the talents of Guy Davidi, Benh Zeitlin, László Nemes, and Guy Nattiv, whose films (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Five Broken Cameras, Son of Saul, Skin) later won Oscars®.

Over the years, the Camera of David Awards honored luminaries such as Steven Spielberg, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski, Barbra Streisand, Agnieszka Holland, Woody Allen, Agnès Varda, Paul Mazursky, Janusz Kamiński, Quentin Tarantino, Joel & Ethan Coen, Gustaw Holoubek and more.

Distinguished jury chairs have included Irvin Kershner, John Daly, Prof. Henryk Kluba, Daniela Weber, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Evgenia Dodina and Grace Guggenheim.

Strehlau currently serves as a member of the festival’s Honorary Film Selection Committee, while the event continues under the direction of his former wife, Magda Makarczuk-Strehlau.

Other Festivals and Cultural Work

In 2009, Strehlau launched the Kolnoa Israeli Cinema Festival in Warsaw, presenting Israeli and Palestinian films side by side. The event opened with Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir and included a joint program with Al-Seenima – Palestinian Cinema Day.

All festivals featured filmmakers from Jenin and ethnic musicians, Israeli and Palestinian diplomats, and intellectuals such as Prof. Shevah Weiss (Speaker of the Knesset), Konstanty Gebert, His Excellency Mr. Khaled Naef Ghazal Soufan – Ambassador of Palestine to Warsaw, Alon Simhayoff – Second Secretary of the Israeli Embassy in Poland, Jair Dalal, Jamal Dajani and more, creating an unprecedented space for dialogue on peace and coexistence.

Hollywood Manifesto

Daniel Strehlau is the author of the famous "Hollywood Manifesto", which he published on March 20, 2021, in the form of a meme.

“I do not enter into intimate relationships with the people I work with. I am a feminist. Women's rights are human rights. I support me2 movement. I am a humanitarian and my life is built on a moral and ethical core built on Jewish values such as compassion, empathy, philanthropy, justice, fairness, and honesty. I am against anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, sexism, discrimination and all exploitation of people and animals. I am against any kind of violence in life and senseless violence in movies and media. I fight environmental, economic, gender and racial injustice. All lives matter only if black lives matter. I am not pre-judgmental, or at least I try not to be.”

Legacy and Vision
Daniel J. Strehlau’s career bridges cultures, nations, and media — from traditional 35mm filmmaking to AI-driven cinema. His lifelong pursuit of film as both art and moral inquiry has made him a distinctive voice in contemporary international cinema and allowed him to develop the vision for his subsequent film projects.
Daniel Strehlau at Cannes FF 2024